CANADA STOCKS-TSX may open higher bouyed by 'Fiscal Cliff' talks

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Nov 19 (Reuters) - Canada’s resource heavy index looked set to open higher on Monday, tracking global markets and supported by a rally in commodities, as U.S. lawmakers agreed on settling policy differences to avert the impending ‘fiscal cliff’ crisis.

TOP STORIES

* Republican and Democratic congressional leaders emerged from a meeting with President Barack Obama on Friday pledging to find common ground on taxes and spending that would allow them to avert an upcoming “fiscal cliff” that could send the economy back into recession.

* Hundreds of people who say they worry oil that would be carried by the Keystone XL pipeline will accelerate climate change marched around the White House on Sunday, hoping to revive a movement credited with slowing down the permit process for the crude oil project.

* BP Plc plans to spend up to 3.7 billion pounds buying back its shares after agreeing last week to pay record criminal penalties over the Deepwater Horizon disaster, Britain’s Sunday Times said in an unsourced report.

* Europe’s powerhouse Germany will likely lose further momentum at year-end as its economy is now feeling the brunt of the euro zone debt crisis and a global slowdown, the Bundesbank said.

MARKET SNAPSHOT

* Canada stock futures traded up 0.29 percent

* U.S. stock futures , , were up around 0.49 percent to 0.63

* European shares, were up

COMMODITY PRICE MOVES

* Thomson Reuters-Jefferies CRB Index : 296.05; rose 0.71 percent

* Gold futures : $1,722.9; rose 0.45 percent

* US crude : $87.95; rose 1.18 percent

* Brent crude : $110; rose 0.96 percent

* LME 3-month copper : $7,686.75; rose 1.07 percent

CANADIAN STOCKS TO WATCH

* Agrium Inc. : Jana Partners LLC said it intends to propose its managing partner, Barry Rosenstein, and four independent directors to the board of the Canadian fertilizer company.

* Less than five months into the appointment of a hard-driving chief executive, industry laggard Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd is already showing signs of a turnaround, and investors have piled into the stock.

ANALYST RECOMMENDATIONS

Following is a summary of research actions on Canadian companies reported by Reuters.

* Long Run Exploration Ltd. : National Bank Financial starts with outperform rating, price target C$8, says the company has a balanced long-term growth approach with valuations at a steep discount for the growing company

* Merus Labs International Inc. : Canaccord Genuity raises target to C$3 from C$2.90 after the company’s competitor came out with a comparatively higher generic price for its drug, vancomycin, thus putting limited pricing pressure on Merus

* West Fraser Timber Co Ltd. : CIBC raises price target to C$80 from C$65 after the company reported better-than-expected third quarter results

ON THE CALENDAR

* No major Canadian economic data scheduled for release

* Major U.S. events and data includes existing home sales and NAHB index